I'm back! And I need to thank some people! To-
angelicmayuka n.n YAY! You liked it! The other chapter was a little depressing's all. I didn't make you wait that long this time! On the other hand...YOU...SIGH. Update yours soon! I miss reading it! T-T
Black-Fire Eclipse Wahahahahha! I updated! O.o See what happens!
Jewels14 Have an update n.n! Have fun with it!
Disclaimer: The animes Gundam Wing and Sailor Moon do not belong to me. If anyone would actually believe that they did, they deserve an award.
Chapter Four – Kyande and the Cat's Meow
Mina glanced over at Lita and frowned. The tall brunet wasn't as energetic as she normally was and Wufei seemed more fussy over her than normal. Biting her lip, Mina turned to her brother and poked him.
"Yes?" he said calmly, rubbing his arm as he turned to face her. She frowned at him as well, not liking the feeling on her face.
"What's up with Lita?" Quatre's faced clouded briefly before answering.
"He's visiting his foster-sister Catherine today."
"Shouldn't she be glad...?" Quatre shook his head, a sad smile on his normally happy features.
"You of all people should realize that this is hard for her. Trowa was adopted into a loving family, Lita wasn't, and it still hurts her to think of it." Mina let out a soft 'Ahhh' and re-shouldered her bookbag. She decided then and there to make it up to Lita by being the best friend she could be. Mina Rana Reberbra Winner would make sure Lita had the best day she possibly could! Just see that she didn't!
"Lets go clubbing!" Ami snorted into her milk and Bunny looked at her wide eyed.
"Wha...?"
"Clubbing! Don't tell me you people have never gone before?" Mina looked around at the silent group. Dumbstruck, she gaped. "I don't believe it!"
"I have." Lita said quietly from her corner with Wufei. "I've been clubbing."
"All right! Now you all need to go! How about tonight? It is Friday." The girls all shared looks and shrugged. Why not?
"What about Hotaru? Is she too young to come?" Bunny asked, resting her chin in her hands.
"Trust me, she'll be fine." Rei answered quickly, smiling at her younger sister. "She'll come."
"Now, where should we go?" Heero nodded at Mina.
"I know a place." Heero said as Mina's eyes widened and she squealed.
"Where?"
"The Mask. It's about forty miles outside of town."
"Perfect!" Mina thumped the table for emphasis, knocking Quatre's burger out of his hand in the process. "Oops, hehe, sorry." Rolling her eyes, Rei crossed her legs and leaned forward.
"What about outfits? How's everyone set on that? Guys?" She asked pointedly. Duo winked.
"No prob here babe." Heero pretended to growl, wrapping an arm around Rei's shoulders.
"Quatre?" Rei said as she turned her gaze his way, ignoring Heero's possessive act.
"Um, well-"
"He's living with me, remember? I'll make sure he and Ami are properly dressed." Mina winked. Duo grinned.
"Yeah! Now that's my kind of woman!" Rei and Ami sighed while Mina flipped her hair over her shoulder with a toss of her head.
"All right, quite salivating Duo." Wufei said as he snapped Duo's mouth closed for him.
"Aw, can't I admire?"
"Yes, please do!"
"Don't encourage him Mina!" Ami wailed.
"But-" both said at the same time before pointing at each other. "What they just said." In unison, everyone except Duo and Mina dropped their heads to the table in defeat. The two blinked, looking at the wreckage before them. "What? What did we say?"
"Is it all right if I bring my niece along with me? She's good friends with Hotaru and I thought it'd be good for her to have someone her age along too." Mina nodded, phone cradled against her shoulder as she rummaged around in her vanity.
"I think it's a great idea. What's her name?"
"Renée but we all just call her Rini."
"Cool name."
"Yeah. She goes to a private school so she and Hotaru don't see each other often."
"So Rini's your niece? How?"
"My older sister Serenity; my only sibling actually. She married a guy named Ron and got pregnant with Rini first thing. She's thirty seven come June."
"Wow."
"Yeah, it kinda came out of no where. This knight in shinning armor swept her off her feet and bam next thing we know they're engaged."
"Kinda like you and Darien?" Mina teased. Across the line, Bunny blushed ruby red.
"I gotta go, or don't you want me to be ready in time to go clubbing?"
"Fine! Fine! I'll go! Talk to you later." Mina shut her closet door on a belt, causing it to bounce back and hit her toe.
"Bye." Bunny replied as Mina gratefully turned the phone off and yelped in pain.
"What is it this time?" Quatre asked as he wandered in, sitting down on the edge of her bedspread, his left leg half-covering a stylized sun.
"Toe." she said simply and sat down, rocking back and forth. Quatre raised an eyebrow.
"Want me to kiss it better?" Mina glared at him.
"Bite me."
"Where?" Mina only glared harder. Quatre laughed and changed the subject. "So have you found and outfit for Ami to wear?"
"Yeah, you were a little hard though. I don't really have many things for guys in my closet."
"Understandably," Mina began to look up and Quatre hastily plowed on, "so what did you pick out?" Mina's face was suddenly graced by a feral grin.
"Why don't you just see it on Ami first?"
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Ami groaned as she turned back and forth in front of the full length mirror.
"What are you talking about? You look great." Ami blushed softly at Mina's comment.
"Thanks."
"Ami! You about ready to leave? Quatre's looking a little apprehensive down here!" Ami jumped at the sound of her mother's voice.
"Yes! Just one moment!" Grabbing a coat off the rack she started downstairs, Mina following.
"Hi Qat! Bye mom! Talk later! I'll have fun! Bye!" Grabbing her boyfriend, Ami fled, making sure her surprised mother saw as little of her outfit as was possible. Laughing, Quatre tapped her shoulder, when they were three blocks away, effectively getting her to slow down.
"You forgot your cell." He said calmly.
"Shit!" Ami immediately clapped a hand to her mouth and blushed. Mina burst out laughing so hard she nearly cried.
"This is just too weird. Ami brushing past her mom, cussing, and wearing a-"
"Don't say it." Ami snapped grimly and slumped inside her coat. If her mother saw her-
"Here, take your cell and lets get going." Surprised, Ami took the small silver phone from her friend's hand. "Your mom handed it to me after you ran out he door dragging Quatre. She said to call if you ran into trouble." Now more than ever, Ami loved her mom more than any daughter. Happily she grabbed Mina and Quatre's hands and began walking down the street to Rei's house.
"This place is amazing!" Duo shouted over the music. Mina silently agreed as the group followed Heero through the crowd. The place was pitch black except for the flashing neon lights. Smoke filled the floor around their feet, giving the place an air of mystery. Bumping into someone, Mina apologized and hurried to catch up to Lita and Wufei.
"So what now?" Wufei asked Lita, secretly hoping she'd answer-
"Let's dance." Letting a small smile escape, Wufei led her out onto the dance floor. Mina sighed, hearts in her eyes. Rei heard her and did a double take at her starry-eyed gaze. 'Aw damn.' she thought. 'I just hope she doesn't go home with the first person she sees. Mental note: talk to Qat about that.'
"Rum and coke." Rei said as she hopped up on the barstool, the bartender turned to look at her and Rei nearly fell off her seat.
"A-a-a-a-Amara!" Everyone's heads snapped up. Amara stared them down with a smirk on her face.
"Now I know some of you aren't even supposed to be in the club, let alone order a drink." Rei had the decency to blush under Amara's pointed gaze. "I'll get coke but the rum will have to wait. I like my job." Flashing her teeth, Amara chuckled. "But if Heero will restrain himself, I think the new guy at the other end of the bar might be...persuaded to get you something more." Taking the cue, Rei slipped down off the stool and sauntered down the bar, fingertips trailing seductively along the edge of it. Heero growled low in his throat but didn't move. Amara's eyebrow rose a notch. Seconds later Rei returned with a glass of dark liquid and a satisfied look on her face. Sitting down on Heero's lap she sipped slowly at the concoction.
"Easy." Rei said as she met Amara's gaze. The tall sandy-headed girl shrugged.
"Thought he might be."
"Please come dance Darien!" Bunny tugged on her boyfriend's hand.
"Bunny-" he tried to plead.
"If you don't I will." Amara said as she wiped a glass clean. Darien let himself be pulled onto the dance floor but not before throwing a look Amara's way. Chuckling, Amara poured another customer a drink.
"He's so predictable."
Rini stood in a corner by herself, not sure what to do. She, unlike Hotaru, hadn't wanted to dance. The slim black haired girl was currently enjoying herself on the floor to the beat of Hoobastank. Rini felt out of place. Her outfit wasn't anything like Hotaru's.
Her best friend was wearing a black leather miniskirt with chains crisscrossed all over it, purple fishnets, black leather boots, and a bodice which laced up in the front with purple ribbon.
Rini looked at her own with mild distaste. A simple pale pink skirt made out of three layers of thin see-through fabric and a white tube top. Her white sandals had a modest one inch heel and laced up to her calves. Deciding to be fancy, she had twisted her strawberry blonde hair up into two pigtails. Next to Hotaru she looked like a stuck up prick...or a goody-goody who never went out. Which was partially true; she didn't get out much. But she wasn't a goody-goody! She just wasn't!
Duo noticed, Bunny's niece was it?, Rini standing by herself in a corner. Figuring she was shy or depressed, Duo made up his mind to find out.
"Hi." Rini started in surprise. She hadn't expected him to say anything to her. She recognized him as one of Bunny's friends. "I'm Duo, Duo Maxwell."
"Rini." She replied, shaking his hand.
"You wanna dance?" Rini blinked.
"Well, I,"
"Do you want to?" Rini noticed his eyes were very blue, so blue they looked purple. Not light purple like Hotaru's contacts, but dark purple. Violet.
"I do, I just don't-"
"Well come on then!" Grabbing her hand, Duo pulled her through the crowds to an open spot. Rini let herself be dragged along until she was deposited in a place where she could actually breathe.
"Do you know how to dance?" Duo asked as he released her hand. Rini glared at him as though he had just asked her to repeat the alphabet.
"Of course."
"Than dance!" After watching Duo for a moment, Rini decided he had the right idea. Closing her eyes, she let the music take her away to places where she normally couldn't find.
At midnight, the group finally found everyone exhausted. After much discussion, it was decided that they'd drive over to a coffee house and have a light snack before crashing at the mansion. Darien agreed to drive Bunny, Rini, and Duo in his car, while Rei took Heero and Hotaru in the Porsche. Sighing dramatically, Quatre claimed his girlfriend, sister, Lita, and Wufei for his vehicle. Rides settled, Duo found himself being used as an armrest while Rini changed her shoes.
"These kill my feet. I don't understand how Mina can wear three inch heels everywhere!" Duo snickered. "I'm serious! You should try them on sometime!"
"After hearing you complaining? What do you think I am? Stupid?" Rini gave him a look which clearly stated she thought he was. Bunny chuckled.
"You left yourself wide open on that one." Darien said as Duo stuck his tongue out at him.
"I'll remember not to do that again, just give me a second to write myself a memo."
"Mocha."
"Lattée."
"Cappuccino."
"Coffee, black." Mina turned to look at Hotaru in disbelief. "What?" The girl asked, as the machine rang up the total.
"Nothing, I'm just surprised."
"I'm lactose intolerant, otherwise I would have something more than sugar in it." Mina made a small 'o' in understanding and asked for a hot chocolate.
"Ahem." Mina noticed Hotaru's amused stare and smiled.
"I'm caffeine intolerant, otherwise I'd have coffee." Picking up their drinks, the two girls wandered over to where the others had pushed two tables together and created what could be best described as a fort.
"Should I start stacking chairs and erect a keep?" Wufei asked dryly from behind the two girls. Duo bounced up, hand raised.
"I'll help! Oo! Pick me! Pick me!" Rini tugged the end of his braid.
"Sit down, your making a scene." Duo sat down, pouting until Rini pushed his mocha lattée in front of him. Ami, watching the exchange, was happy that Rini had managed to make friends with Bunny's friends. She herself had been unsure of the age gap when presented with the idea but now the doubts seemed unfounded.
Lita stirred her coffee with a tiny brown straw, letting it grow gradually cold. Feeling a slight pressure on her thigh, she looked down to see Wufei's hand squeeze her leg comfortingly.
"He's fine. Just...have fun tonight." Wufei's whisper tickled her ear.
"I'm...trying." she managed to choke out. She leaned her head on his shoulder as his arm slipped around her waist. "I'm trying. It's just so hard."
"This isn't just about Tro is it kawaii hito?" Lita shook her head and buried her face in his neck, breathing in deep the smell of sandalwood in his hair. "How long has it been since you..."
"Two weeks." His hand idly played with her hair.
"And they've been an admirable two weeks." Sniffing back a tear, she kissed him lightly and sat back up, taking a large swig out of her luke-warm coffee. She made a face and dumped three packets of sugar in it, stirring it a second time. Hesitating, she shrugged and put a forth one in.
"Does sugar help the temperature?" Wufei asked as she sipped it.
"Yep. It's a proven scientific fact."
"An unpublished one then."
"Ah, but a well-known one."
"Apparently. So why wasn't I informed then?"
"Because...I decided you should be ignorant to the ways of American coffee."
"For that I thank you ever so much."
"Gasp! Is that sarcasm I hear?"
"Oh! Lita and Wufei are being kawaii again!" Duo squealed, jumping up and down in his chair. Rini clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Quiet. You talk too much."
"I do not! Do I...?"
"YES!" Everyone cried out. Duo thumped his head against the table. Darien made a cutting motion across his throat.
"Open."
"Damn memo." Duo muttered as Rei patted his back sympathetically.
Author: Ack! I am finished writing for now! Update soon! Love,
and yes I realise I made Wufei speak Japanese instead of Chinese,
Terra Rain.
